Rodón strikes out 11, Hernández, Abreu homer to lead White Sox to shutout win
An early lead and a spot-on Carlos Rodón made for a dangerous combination for the White Sox at Wrigley Field.
The Sox took a two-run lead in the first inning against righthander Adbert Alzolay, and five pitchers combined to shut out the Cubs in a 4-0 victory Saturday. After blowing a save Friday in his return to Wrigley, Craig Kimbrel threw a perfect eighth with two strikeouts, and fellow former Cubs reliever Ryan Tepera kept them off the board in the ninth to secure the Sox win in front of 40,077 fans.
“There is serious talent that comes out to get those last, what turned out to be the last 12 outs,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “You saw it (Friday). This game is never easy, can’t take anything for granted . ... I was very impressed, we were all impressed with the way Ryan handled that ninth inning.
“Let me tell you, the career (Kimbrel’s) had? He’s probably saved 90%, and 10% get away. He’s a really good competitor. When he lets his team down, he comes back. There isn’t anything about this guy that’s ever going to give in or give up.”
The Cubs struggled to make contact against Rodón, who struck out 11 in fiveplus innings. Rodón generated 19 swings and misses, including 12 with his fastball.
The only two hits for the Cubs off Rodón came on a Frank Schwindel single in the second and David Bote’s double in the fourth. The Cubs managed only five hits, all but one singles, and struck out 17 times.
“It was a good one,” Rodón said. “Lot of swing and miss, but they still worked that pitch count up and got me out early.”
Alzolay locked in after the first, retiring 16 of the next 18 Sox batters he faced. He struck out seven and didn’t walk a hitter in 6 ⅔ innings. It was an encouraging performance for Alzolay, who bounced back from one of his worst starts of the season.
Left-handed hitters often give Alzolay trouble, but he did a better job keeping them in check against the Sox. Their lefty hitters went a combined 4-for-17 against Alzolay, who used his changeup more in those spots. While it remains a work in progress, the rookie was encouraged by his performance.
“For me it’s learning how to mix and match my pitches,” Alzolay said. “It’s been more about knowing my pitches and seeing results with those pitches.”
Cubs manager David Ross liked how Alzolay commanded the ball to both sides of the plate.
“When you put in a lot of hard work and have some struggles, you’re trying to make some adjustments as the league adjust to you,” Ross said. “It’s nice to put the work in and see results, that’s something he can definitely benefit from, outside of not getting the ‘W,’ which is always important to the starters. That’s a really quality performance by him.”
The offense hasn’t given Alzolay much support when he’s on the mound. Alzolay has the sixth-lowest run support in MLB at 3.26 runs per start. The Cubs bullpen tried to keep it close for another late rally, but César Hernández and José Abreu hit backto-back home runs in the eighth against reliever Trevor Megill to extend the Sox’s lead to 4-0.
Hernández continues to show why he’s been a good addition to the Sox lineup. He homered for the second consecutive day and is 10-for-29 (.323) with a .457 on-base percentage in eight games with the Sox. Hernández’s long ball Saturday gave him 20 homers in a season for the first time in his nine-year career.
“It feels good,” Hernández said through an interpreter. “That’s the fruit of my work. I’ve been working very hard to have a good season, to have good results. That’s why I’m able to get those 20 homers and have a good season right now.”